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February 20 - 26, 2009 The Independent Weekly 40 spectrum New thinking from our universities Cost of the Aussie dream A Professor Andrew Beer s the recent tragic events in Victoria haveshown, Australia’s cities, towns and regions are vulnerable to forces outside their control. The loss of more than 1000 homes, with more than 5000 people left homeless, in less than 48 hours highlights just how precarious the quality of life we take for granted can be. At the same time that regional Victoria was burning, many Queensland regions were either under flood or faced the threat of floods. Simultaneously, other parts of Australia continued to be confronted by the impact of a drought that threatens the liveli- hood of farmers, tourism operators and other small businesses. The physical environment presents a range of risks for Australia’s cities and regions, but other hazards have their origins in social and economic change. The global financial crisis has cast a long shadow over the prosperity of many centres, with our largest – Sydney – suffering from a decline in financial markets. Meanwhile, smaller mining centres have seen a fall in both the demand for, and price of, minerals, resulting in unemployment and declining wages. Over the past decades, economic growth and a buoyant economy have generated other challenges for Australians living in the capital cities and regional areas. Booming housing markets and a soaring demand for both home ownership and investment properties has created a housing affordability crisis that is likely to re-emerge in the future. The extent and depth of the housing affordability problem confronting Australian cities over the past decade cannot be over- emphasised. Governments and housing profes- sionals have traditionally focused on the number and percentage of households in “housing stress”. Under this measure, households are seen to be in housing stress if they are on a low income and are paying more than 40 per cent of their wages or other earnings for housing. A depressingly large number of households are caught in this invidious position and the problem is getting worse over time, not better. Contrary to urban mythol- ogy, the problem is much more acute for tenants than for home purchasers, and is as widespread in regional Australia as it is in the capital cities. But the problem of housing affordability is not restricted to those on low incomes: many families and individuals on good incomes have also found themselves paying a very high percentage of their income for housing. By 2006, just under 450,000 moderate and high-income earners were paying more than 30 per cent of their income on their mortgage and this number had increased ninefold over the previous decade. Where middle and high-income earners once faced little or no risk in buying a home, that situation has changed radically, with almost 20 per cent reporting mortgage payments that suggest a measure of financial hardship. While people in this group have not experienced housing stress, The global financial crisis has cast a long shadow over the prosperity of many centres. they have entered a circumstance of “housing vulnerability”, and the rapid rise in the number and percentage of households with substantial mortgage debt is clearly significant. It may also partly explain the outcome of the November 2007 federal election, with many “mortgage belt” electorates swinging away from the Coalition Government. The current low mortgage interest rates will not remain indefi- nitely and the problem of housing stress and housing vulnerability will resurface once the Australian Prof Beer thinks ‘housing vulnerability’ will continue to be a problem. Photo: Ashton Claridge and global economies regain momentum. Many of the problems of housing affordability can be traced back to inadequate housing supply in Australia’s growing cities and regions. Federal, state and local govern- ments are all trying to address this issue, with many councils develop- ing policies for affordable housing. The South Australian Government has legislated for affordable housing provision in all new major developments, while the Rudd Government has introduced a National Rental Affordability Scheme and a National Affordable Housing Agreement. It has also assisted in the provision of infrastructure for urban development and, most recently, included the building of more social housing in its economic stimulus package. All these initiatives are welcome and necessary. As a nation, we will have to overcome significant hurdles if we are to create cities and regions that are sustainable, prosperous, affordable and efficient. We also want cities and regions in which we feel secure and where we believe all Australians – including indigenous Australians – can get a “fair go”. It is important to acknowledge that many groups within Australian society do not share in the “Great Australian Dream” of home ownership and a comfortable life. The rate of home ownership for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is half that of the population at large,and many people with a disability are con- fronted by housing costs in excess of 60 per cent of their income. The latter also have little opportu- nity to buy their own home. Some 22 per cent of Australian households have one or more people with a significant disability but much of our housing stock is inappropriate for their needs and/or unaffordable, given their limited means. It is for all these reasons that Professor Michael Barber, Vice- Chancellor of Flinders University, last week launched the Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research (FIHURR). This new institute brings together the university’s already considerable strengths in research on housing for the aged, housing affordability, regional economic development, disability and hous- ing, the causes and consequences of eviction, the health impacts of housing, and the provision of shelter for women and children fleeing violence in the home. It will also look to strengthen its credentials in sustainable urban development, affordable and appropriate housing for indigenous Australians, and measures to improve the supply of housing. The role of the institute is to generate new ideas that will improve the lives of Australians in all cities and regions, disseminate those ideas and work in partnership with others to build stronger, fairer and more sustainable communities. It is keen to work with others and those interested should email andrew.beer@ flinders.edu.au. ??Professor AndrewBeer is director of Flinders University’s new Institute of Housing, Urban and Regional Research. India’s top female cop on the beat in Adelaide Suzie Keen India’s first elite policewoman – the feisty Kiran Bedi – will be in Adelaide next week for the Australian premiere of a film about her life. Yes Madam, Sir – narrated by Oscar-winner Helen Mirren – catalogues Bedi’s roller-coaster journey from Asian tennis champ to a “super-cop” and social reformer who battled bureaucracy and corruption head-on. She is described as a “modern- day Ghandi” and first gained infamy when she single-handedly fought back hundreds of sword- wielding Sikh protestors while armed only with a wooden baton. Bedi clashed with the Indian government constantly during a career that saw her become the highest-ranking woman in the country’s police force and The life of Kiran Bedi, India’s first elite policewoman, is explored in Yes Madam, Sir. inspector-general of one of Asia’s most notorious prisons, as well as carrying out voluntary work in Delhi’s slums and representing India at the United Nations. Although documentary makers around the world were vying to tell Bedi’s life story, Yes Madam, Sir was made by a Sydney woman whose previous experience was gained working on blockbuster movies such as Babe, Pig in the City and Mission: Impossible II. “I saw Kiran in a documentary… she was so charismatic and enigmatic and feisty and intrigu- ing,” Megan Doneman says of the inspiration for her six-year project. After emailing Bedi, Doneman travelled to India with producer/ director Laraine Doneman and arrived on her doorstep with a camera. She said there was an immediate connection between them. “She didn’t know me from a bar of soap but she grabbed me in a big bear hug. She let us stay at her house overnight.” Doneman believes Bedi chose her to make the film because she was also an underdog. “I think she enjoyed watching me struggle, as she has done that her whole life.” The young Aussie was given unrestricted access to Bedi, and also interviewed both her admirers and her critics. She made numerous trips to Delhi, filming with just one camera, no crewand no external funding. Doneman describes the project as challenging but “endlessly fascinating”. “She has such a dramatic life; there was always something going down.” After seeing Yes Madam, Sir for the first time, Bedi told Doneman she got so caught up in the story she almost forgot herself. “She said: ‘Wow, that’s my life in 94 minutes!’ She laughed the loudest at all her critics talking about her.” The film has already been well-received at film festivals in Toronto, Dubai and Santa Barbara, and Doneman said the audience response had been the same on each occasion. “People walk out inspired by the courage of this woman … it cracks your mind open to see what one woman can achieve.” ¦ Yes Madam, Sir is screening on February 23 and 27 as part of the Adelaide Film Festival. Megan Doneman will also be speaking at a forum, Changing the World Through Film, at the Hawke Centre on February 24.